# FAA regulations in plain English

> The 52 sections of 14 CFR (the FARs) that aircraft owners, flight schools, mechanics, instructors and renters look up most, each explained in plain English beside the official eCFR text. Text current as of 2026-10-15.

Source: https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations
Data: https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/data.json

## Owning an aircraft

Who is responsible for airworthiness, what has to be on board, and what you may fly with when something is broken. For: New owners, clubs and leaseback owners.

- [14 CFR 91.403: The owner is responsible for airworthiness](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-403.md): The owner or operator is primarily responsible for keeping the aircraft airworthy, and that includes complying with every Airworthiness Directive. The mechanic does the work, but the duty to have it done sits with the owner.
- [14 CFR 91.405: Maintenance the owner must have done](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-405.md): The owner or operator must have the aircraft inspected as Part 91 requires and have discrepancies repaired between inspections. They must also make sure the mechanic logs every return to service and placards anything left inoperative.
- [14 CFR 91.407: Flying after maintenance or alteration](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-407.md): After any maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding or alteration, the aircraft cannot fly until an authorized person approves it for return to service and the logbook entry is made. Work that may have changed how it flies also needs a test flight by at least a private pilot before passengers ride along.
- [14 CFR 91.7: Flying only an airworthy aircraft](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-7.md): No one may operate a civil aircraft that is not airworthy. The pilot in command decides whether the aircraft is in condition for safe flight and must end the flight if an unairworthy condition appears.
- [14 CFR 91.9: Flight manual, markings and placards](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-9.md): You must fly within the operating limitations in the approved flight manual and on the aircraft's markings and placards. A current approved flight manual, or the approved manual material and placards for older aircraft, has to be in the aircraft.
- [14 CFR 91.203: Documents required on board](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-203.md): Every civil aircraft must carry a current airworthiness certificate and an effective registration certificate. The airworthiness certificate has to be displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance where passengers or crew can read it.
- [14 CFR 91.205: Required instruments and equipment](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-205.md): A powered aircraft with a standard airworthiness certificate must have specific instruments and equipment working for each kind of flight. Day VFR has a basic list, night VFR adds lights and fuses, and IFR adds gyros, a clock and suitable radios.
- [14 CFR 91.213: Flying with inoperative equipment](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-213.md): You may take off with inoperative equipment only under an approved Minimum Equipment List, or, for most small piston aircraft without one, if the item is not required for the flight, is removed or deactivated and placarded, and is judged not to be a hazard.
- [14 CFR 47.40: Registration expiration and renewal](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/47-40.md): A Certificate of Aircraft Registration expires seven years after the last day of the month it was issued. You can renew it with AC Form 8050-1B and the fee during the six months before the expiration date.

## Required inspections

The annual, the 100-hour, and the checks that come due on their own clocks: transponder, pitot-static, ELT and VOR. For: Owners, flight schools and mechanics.

- [14 CFR 91.409: Annual and 100-hour inspections](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-409.md): Every aircraft needs an annual inspection within the preceding 12 calendar months. An aircraft that carries passengers for hire, or that an instructor provides for flight instruction for hire, also needs an annual or 100-hour inspection every 100 hours of time in service.
- [14 CFR 91.411: Altimeter and pitot-static checks for IFR](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-411.md): To fly IFR in controlled airspace, an airplane or helicopter's static system, altimeters and altitude reporting equipment must have been tested within the preceding 24 calendar months. The test is also required after the static system is opened or the encoder is worked on.
- [14 CFR 91.413: Transponder tests and inspections](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-413.md): Any transponder required by 91.215 must have been tested and inspected within the preceding 24 calendar months. It also needs a new test after installation or maintenance that could introduce a data correspondence error.
- [14 CFR 91.207: ELT inspection and battery replacement](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-207.md): Most US-registered airplanes must carry a working emergency locator transmitter, inspected every 12 calendar months. Its battery must be replaced after 1 cumulative hour of use or when half its useful life has passed.
- [14 CFR 91.171: VOR equipment check for IFR](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-171.md): To navigate by VOR under IFR, the aircraft's VOR equipment must have been operationally checked within the preceding 30 days and found within tolerance, unless it is maintained under an approved procedure. The pilot logs the date, place, bearing error and signature.
- [14 CFR 91.225: ADS-B Out: where it is required](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-225.md): Since January 1, 2020, aircraft need ADS-B Out to fly in Class A, B and C airspace, within the 30 nm Mode C veil, above Class B and C shelves, and in Class E at or above 10,000 feet MSL. Aircraft certificated without an engine-driven electrical system, such as gliders and many antiques, are partly exempt.
- [14 CFR Part 43, Appendix D: What an annual and 100-hour inspection must cover](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/43-appendix-d.md): Appendix D lists the minimum an annual or 100-hour inspection must cover. The inspector opens and cleans the aircraft, then checks each group, from fuselage, cabin, engine and landing gear to wings, tail, propeller and radios, for the defects the appendix names.

## Maintenance and records

Who may work on an aircraft, who may sign it off, what each logbook entry must say, and what an owner must keep. For: Owners and mechanics.

- [14 CFR 91.417: Maintenance records an owner must keep](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-417.md): An owner keeps two kinds of records. Work records (what was done, when, and who signed it) are kept until the work is repeated or superseded, or for a year. Status records (total time, life-limited parts, overhaul times, inspection status, AD status and Form 337s) stay with the aircraft for good and transfer when it is sold.
- [14 CFR 91.419: Maintenance records when an aircraft is sold](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-419.md): Whoever sells a US-registered aircraft must give the buyer its status records from 91.417(a)(2) at the time of sale, and its work records too, although the buyer can let the seller keep physical custody of those.
- [14 CFR 91.421: Records for a rebuilt engine](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-421.md): An engine rebuilt by its manufacturer, or by an agency the manufacturer approves, may start a new maintenance record with no previous history. That is what zero time means; an overhauled engine does not qualify.
- [14 CFR 43.3: Who may perform maintenance](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/43-3.md): Maintenance may be done by certificated mechanics and repairmen, repair stations, air carriers and manufacturers, and by people working under a mechanic's direct supervision. A pilot may do preventive maintenance on an aircraft they own or operate, as long as it is not used under Parts 121, 129 or 135.
- [14 CFR 43.7: Who may approve a return to service](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/43-7.md): Only certain people may sign an aircraft back into service after maintenance: mechanics and Inspection Authorization holders within Part 65, repair stations, manufacturers for their own work, air carriers, and a private pilot or higher after preventive maintenance they did themselves.
- [14 CFR 43.9: What a maintenance logbook entry must say](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/43-9.md): Whoever does maintenance, preventive maintenance or an alteration makes a logbook entry with a description of the work, the date it was completed, the name of who did it, and the signature, certificate number and kind of certificate of whoever approved it. Major repairs and alterations also need a Form 337.
- [14 CFR 43.11: What an inspection logbook entry must say](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/43-11.md): After an annual, 100-hour or other required inspection, the inspector logs the type and extent of the inspection, the date and total time, their signature and certificate, and a statement that the aircraft is airworthy or that a list of discrepancies was given to the owner.
- [14 CFR Part 43, Appendix A: Major repairs, major alterations and preventive maintenance](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/43-appendix-a.md): Appendix A defines three lists: major alterations, major repairs, and preventive maintenance. The preventive maintenance list in paragraph (c) is the work a pilot may do on an aircraft they own or operate, such as tire changes, spark plugs, oil and fuel filters, batteries and simple fabric patches.

## Airworthiness Directives

What an AD is, what happens if you fly without complying, and the ways around one: an alternative method or a ferry permit. For: Owners and mechanics.

- [14 CFR 39.3: What an Airworthiness Directive is](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/39-3.md): An Airworthiness Directive is a legally enforceable FAA rule, not a recommendation. ADs apply to four kinds of product: aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers and appliances.
- [14 CFR 39.7: Flying without complying with an AD](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/39-7.md): Anyone who operates a product that does not meet the requirements of an applicable Airworthiness Directive is in violation of 39.7. That makes an overdue AD a reason not to fly, and the pilot and the owner can both be held responsible.
- [14 CFR 39.11: What an AD can require](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/39-11.md): An AD can require three kinds of thing: inspections you must carry out, conditions and limitations you must comply with, and actions you must take to resolve the unsafe condition.
- [14 CFR 39.15: ADs on a modified aircraft or part](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/39-15.md): Yes, an AD still applies after the product has been changed. Modifying, altering or repairing the affected area does not take an aircraft or part out of an AD that names it.
- [14 CFR 39.19: Alternative methods of compliance (AMOC)](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/39-19.md): Anyone may propose an alternative method of compliance (AMOC), or a change in compliance time, that gives an acceptable level of safety. You may use it only after the manager of the FAA office named in the AD approves it.
- [14 CFR 39.23: Ferrying an aircraft with an open AD](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/39-23.md): You can usually fly an aircraft with an open AD to a place where the work can be done, but you need a special flight permit (a ferry permit) from the FAA unless your operations specifications already allow it. The AD itself can rule the flight out.

## Pilots and renters

Certificates to carry, how long a medical lasts, the flight review, currency, endorsements, and splitting the cost of a flight. For: Students, renters and club members.

- [14 CFR 61.3: Certificates a pilot must hold and carry](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/61-3.md): To act as a required pilot you must have your pilot certificate, a government photo ID and, unless an exception applies, your medical certificate in your possession or readily accessible in the aircraft. You must show them to the FAA, NTSB, TSA or a law enforcement officer who asks.
- [14 CFR 61.23: How long a medical certificate lasts](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/61-23.md): A private, recreational or student pilot needs at least a third-class medical, or BasicMed. For those privileges any class of medical lasts 60 calendar months if you were under 40 at the exam, and 24 calendar months if you were 40 or older. Commercial privileges need a second-class medical, good for 12 months.
- [14 CFR 91.17: Alcohol and drugs: the eight-hour rule](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-17.md): No one may act as a crewmember within 8 hours of drinking alcohol, while under its influence, with an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more, or while using any drug that impairs them. Pilots also may not carry an intoxicated passenger, except in an emergency or a medical patient under care.
- [14 CFR 61.31: Complex, high-performance and tailwheel endorsements](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/61-31.md): Some aircraft need more than a pilot certificate. Large and jet aircraft need a type rating, and complex, high-performance (over 200 horsepower), high-altitude pressurized and tailwheel airplanes each need training and a one-time logbook endorsement from an instructor.
- [14 CFR 61.51: Pilot logbooks](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/61-51.md): You must log the training and experience you use for a certificate, rating, flight review or currency. Each entry needs the date, time, where you departed and arrived, the aircraft, the kind of time (solo, PIC, dual) and the conditions (day, night, instrument).
- [14 CFR 61.56: The flight review](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/61-56.md): To act as pilot in command you need a flight review within the past 24 calendar months: at least 1 hour of ground training and 1 hour of flight training with an instructor, ending in a logbook endorsement. Passing a checkride or completing a phase of the FAA WINGS program counts instead.
- [14 CFR 61.57: Currency: recent flight experience](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/61-57.md): To carry passengers you need 3 takeoffs and 3 landings in the preceding 90 days in the same category, class and type, to a full stop if it is a tailwheel airplane. At night you need 3 to a full stop at night. To fly IFR you need 6 approaches, holding and course tracking within the preceding 6 calendar months.
- [14 CFR 61.113: Private pilot privileges and sharing costs](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/61-113.md): A private pilot may not fly for compensation or hire, but may share a flight's fuel, oil, airport expenses and rental fees with passengers, paying at least their own pro rata share. A few narrow exceptions apply, and the section also sets the limits for flying under BasicMed.
- [14 CFR 91.3: Pilot in command authority](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-3.md): The pilot in command is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of the aircraft. In an in-flight emergency that needs immediate action, the pilot may deviate from any Part 91 rule as far as the emergency requires.
- [14 CFR 91.103: Preflight action](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-103.md): Before every flight the pilot in command must become familiar with all available information about it. That always includes runway lengths and takeoff and landing distances. For IFR flights and flights away from the airport it also includes weather, fuel, alternatives and known ATC delays.
- [14 CFR 91.151: VFR fuel requirements](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-151.md): Before a VFR flight, an airplane must carry enough fuel to reach the first intended landing point and then fly at normal cruise for 30 more minutes by day, or 45 minutes at night. A rotorcraft needs 20 minutes.

## Instructors and students

Solo and cross-country endorsements, the private pilot's hours, the records an instructor keeps, and renewing the certificate. For: Flight instructors and chief instructors.

- [14 CFR 61.87: Student pilot solo requirements](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/61-87.md): Before a first solo, a student must pass a pre-solo knowledge test given by their instructor, receive and log training in the listed maneuvers, and get a logbook endorsement for the specific make and model. That endorsement is good for 90 days and must be renewed by an instructor every 90 days.
- [14 CFR 61.93: Student solo cross-country flights](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/61-93.md): A student needs cross-country training and endorsements before any solo flight more than 25 nautical miles from the home airport or landing anywhere else. Each solo cross-country also needs the instructor to review the student's planning and endorse the logbook for that flight.
- [14 CFR 61.109: Private pilot flight experience](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/61-109.md): A private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine rating needs at least 40 hours of flight time, including 20 hours of training with an instructor and 10 hours of solo. The 20 hours must include cross-country, night, instrument and checkride preparation training.
- [14 CFR 61.189: Records a flight instructor must keep](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/61-189.md): A flight instructor signs the logbook of everyone they train and keeps their own record of every solo endorsement and every knowledge or practical test endorsement they give, including the test results, for at least 3 years.
- [14 CFR 61.195: Flight instructor limitations](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/61-195.md): A flight instructor may give no more than 8 hours of flight training in any 24 consecutive hours, and may only teach in aircraft for which they hold the matching pilot and instructor ratings. The section also limits which endorsements an instructor may sign and bans self-endorsement.
- [14 CFR 61.197: Renewing a flight instructor certificate](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/61-197.md): Flight instructor certificates no longer expire. Instead, an instructor may teach only if they have met a recent experience requirement within the preceding 24 calendar months, such as a practical test, an 80 percent first-time pass rate with 5 applicants, or a refresher course.

## Running a flight school

What a Part 141 certificate takes, the people and records it requires, and the letter of authorization for sightseeing flights. For: New flight school and flight business owners.

- [14 CFR 141.5: Getting a Part 141 pilot school certificate](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/141-5.md): A school gets a full Part 141 pilot school certificate only after operating on a provisional certificate. Within the 24 calendar months before applying it must have an 80 percent first-attempt pass rate on its knowledge, practical and end-of-course tests and have graduated at least 10 different people.
- [14 CFR 141.33: Personnel a Part 141 school must have](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/141-33.md): A Part 141 school needs enough qualified instructors and a chief instructor for each approved course. It may also name assistant chief instructors and, once it has 10 students enrolled, check instructors for stage checks and end-of-course tests.
- [14 CFR 141.55: What a Part 141 training course must contain](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/141-55.md): Each Part 141 course must meet the curriculum and minimum hours in its appendix and be written up in a training course outline. The outline describes the rooms, training aids, simulators, airports and aircraft, the instructors' qualifications, and a syllabus with every lesson's objectives, standards and stage checks.
- [14 CFR 141.101: Part 141 training records](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/141-101.md): A Part 141 school keeps a current, accurate record for every enrolled student: enrollment date, a chronological log of attendance, subjects and flights, test names and grades, and the date they graduated, left or transferred. The student's own logbook is not enough. Keep it at least a year.
- [14 CFR 91.147: Sightseeing flights for compensation (LOA)](https://www.aerscheduler.com/regulations/91-147.md): An operator selling nonstop passenger flights that start and end at the same airport, within 25 statute miles, needs a Letter of Authorization from the FAA. It must also follow the Part 136 safety rules, run a registered drug and alcohol testing program, and meet Part 5's safety management requirements.

_The plain-English summaries are AerScheduler's reading of the rules, not legal advice. The official text on each page is the eCFR's, published by the Office of the Federal Register._